Using Swords & Wizardry Method for Generating a Random Hoard (Via AI)

I wanted to try the S&W hoard generation rules, but it requires a LOT of rolling. I figured that would be a good task for AI (Gemini, in this case).

I had 49,840 gp value of treasure (using the XP total times 1d3+1) for two groups of monsters working together. Unique monsters (such as a shaman or a guardian beast) might have their own treasures that I would determine separately. This is to be spread throughout the lair.

I then asked Gemini to randomize the remaining coins (no round numbers), to do all the rolling for values and then to assign gem types to the gem values and brief descriptions of the jewelry items that were generated. While the juggling and asking the AI to redo things, reword things, etc. took maybe 20 or 25 minutes and I still did a number of rolls myself (for the magic items), the raw data from the first post was a HUGE time saver. Not bad.

Here’s the raw results from Gemini:

 

Alright, let's do a fresh calculation and make some example rolls for each step.

Step 1: 100 GP Trade-Outs (498 potential)

Let's roll 498 times on 1d10. Imagine we get 48 successful trade-outs (results of 1).

Now, for each of these 48 trade-outs, we roll 1d20:

Let's say the 48 d20 rolls yield:

• 39 results between 1 and 19: These require 39 rolls on Table 79 (Minor Gems and Jewelry). Let's do a few example rolls on 1d4 for Table 79 and then the subsequent value rolls:
• Roll 1: (1 on d4) -> 1d6 gp = 4 gp
• Roll 2: (3 on d4) -> 1d100 + 75 gp = 23 + 75 = 98 gp
• Roll 3: (2 on d4) -> 1d100 + 25 gp = 88 + 25 = 113 gp
• ... (and so on for 36 more rolls)
• 9 results of 20: These require 9 rolls on Table 82 (Minor Magic Items). Let's do a few example rolls on 1d4 for Table 82:
• Roll 1: (2 on d4) -> Roll 1d6 on the Scrolls table (let's say we get a result that corresponds to a Protection from Evil scroll).
• Roll 2: (1 on d4) -> Roll once on the Potions table (let's say we get a Potion of Healing).
• Roll 3: (4 on d4) -> Roll 1d20 on the Remarkable Magic Items Table (Table 98) (let's say we get a Bag of Holding).
• ... (and so on for 6 more rolls)

Gold tentatively traded out in this step: 48 * 100 gp = 4,800 gp.

Step 2: 1,000 GP Trade-Outs (49 potential)

Let's roll 49 times on 1d10. Imagine we get 4 successful trade-outs.

Now, for each of these 4 trade-outs, we roll 1d20:

Let's say the 4 d20 rolls yield:

• 2 results between 1 and 19: These require 2 rolls on Table 80 (Medium Gems and Jewelry). Let's do example rolls on 1d4:
• Roll 1: (3 on d4) -> 1d6 x 300 gp = 5 x 300 = 1500 gp
• Roll 2: (1 on d4) -> 1d100 gp = 72 gp
• 2 results of 20: These require 2 rolls on Table 83 (Medium Magic Items). Let's do example rolls on 1d4:
• Roll 1: (4 on d4) -> Roll 1d20 + 20 on the Remarkable Magic Items Table (Table 98) (let's say we get a +1 Sword).
• Roll 2: (1 on d4) -> Roll three times on the Potions table (let's say we get two Potions of Climbing and one Potion of Invisibility).

Gold tentatively traded out in this step: 4 * 1,000 gp = 4,000 gp.

Step 3: 5,000 GP Trade-Outs (9 potential)

Let's roll 9 times on 1d10. Imagine we get 1 successful trade-out.

Now, we roll 1d20:

Let's say the 1 d20 roll yields:

• A result of 7 (between 1 and 19): This requires 1 roll on Table 81 (Major Gems and Jewelry). Let's do an example roll on 1d4:
• Roll 1: (4 on d4) -> 1d100 x 200 gp = 31 x 200 = 6200 gp

Gold tentatively traded out in this step: 1 * 5,000 gp = 5,000 gp.

Step 4: Calculate Remaining Gold Pieces

Total gold tentatively traded out: 4,800 gp + 4,000 gp + 5,000 gp = 13,800 gp.

Remaining gold piece value: 49,840 gp (total) - 13,800 gp (traded out) = 36,040 gp.

Step 5: Bullet Point Summary of the Hoard

Here's a bullet point summary of the generated treasure:

• Coins: 36,040 gp (to be divided into denominations as desired).
• Gems and Jewelry (from Table 79 - Minor): 39 items with individual values determined by 1d6 gp, 1d100+25 gp, 1d100+75 gp, or 1d100x10 gp (example values: 4 gp, 98 gp, 113 gp, etc.).
• Minor Magic Items (from Table 82): 9 items determined by rolls on the Potions table (1), Scrolls table (1d6), Magic Armor and Weapons Table (1d6), or Remarkable Magic Items Table (1d20) (example: Protection from Evil scroll, Potion of Healing, Bag of Holding, etc.).
• Gems and Jewelry (from Table 80 - Medium): 2 items with individual values determined by 1d100 gp or 1d6 x 200 gp (example values: 72 gp, 1500 gp).
• Medium Magic Items (from Table 83): 2 items determined by rolls of three times on the Potions table, 1d6+6 on the Scrolls table, 1d6+6 on the Magic Armor and Weapons Table, or 1d20+20 on the Remarkable Magic Items Table (example: +1 Sword, two Potions of Climbing, one Potion of Invisibility).
• Gems and Jewelry (from Table 81 - Major): 1 item with a value determined by 1d100 x 200 gp (example value: 6200 gp).
• Major Magic Items (from Table 84): 0 items in this specific roll.

This summary provides the remaining coins and indicates the number of items rolled from each gem/jewelry and magic item table. To get the full details, you would need to complete all the subsequent rolls on those tables.

Here's a bullet point summary of the generated treasure:

• Coins: 36,040 gp

638 Platinum Pieces (pp)

15,713 Gold Pieces (gp)

8,445 Electrum Pieces (ep)

89,173 Silver Pieces (sp)

80,720 Copper Pieces (cp)

 

• Gems and Jewelry (from Table 79 - Minor): 39 items with individual values determined by 1d6 gp, 1d100+25 gp, 1d100+75 gp, or 1d100x10 gp (example values: 4 gp, 98 gp, 113 gp, etc.).

 

Okay, here are the 39 minor gems and jewelry items listed as bullet points:

 

Small Emerald (138 gp)

Piece of polished Jet (2 gp)

Star Ruby (370 gp)

Carnelian (5 gp)

Small Sapphire (87 gp)

Diamond (slightly flawed) (910 gp)

Spinel (153 gp)

Bloodstone (35 gp)

Lapis Lazuli (4 gp)

Peridot (106 gp)

Jacinth (680 gp)

Chrysoprase (31 gp)

Obsidian Figurine (6 gp)

Tanzanite (174 gp)

Opal (170 gp)

Azurite (3 gp)

Topaz (119 gp)

Garnet Bracelet (220 gp)

Moonstone (34 gp)

Iolite (131 gp)

Alexandrite (830 gp)

Chalcedony (4 gp)

Amethyst (104 gp)

Aquamarine (710 gp)

Smoky Quartz (32 gp)

Hematite (5 gp)

Tourmaline (93 gp)

Fire Opal (460 gp)

Rhodochrosite (27 gp)

Pearl (small) (6 gp)

Zircon (163 gp)

Malachite Box (50 gp)

Jasper Ring (28 gp)

Piece of Shell Art (1 gp)

Tiger's Eye Brooch (26 gp)

Ivory Carving (2 gp)

Banded Agate Necklace (33 gp)

Coral Necklace (30 gp)

Amber Necklace (110 gp)

          Malachite Box (50 gp): A hinged, rectangular box measuring approximately 4 inches by 6 inches, carved from deep green malachite with swirling lighter green bands. The lid is smooth, and the interior is unlined. It closes with a simple, non-locking clasp made of tarnished brass.

 

Jasper Ring (28 gp): A thick silver band with a single, oval cabochon-cut stone of earthy red jasper set into it. The jasper has subtle darker brown veins running through it. The silver shows signs of wear but is still sturdy.

 

Piece of Shell Art (1 gp): A roughly circular plaque of dark wood, about 3 inches in diameter, onto which several small, white cowrie shells have been glued in a simple, daisy-like pattern. Some of the shells are chipped.

 

Tiger's Eye Brooch (26 gp): A small, oval brooch made of simple bronze. It features a smoothly polished, golden-brown tiger's eye cabochon that catches the light with its characteristic shimmering band. The pin on the back is slightly bent.

 

Ivory Carving (2 gp): A crudely carved figurine of a small, four-legged animal, about 2 inches long, made from a piece of yellowish ivory. The details are basic, with roughly etched eyes and limbs. It feels smooth but slightly oily to the touch.

 

Banded Agate Necklace (33 gp): A necklace made of a simple leather cord strung with seven polished, round beads of gray and white banded agate. The beads are about half an inch in diameter and are evenly spaced along the cord.

 

Coral Necklace (30 gp): A delicate necklace made of thin, reddish-pink coral branches, each about an inch long, linked together with fine silver wire. The coral has a slightly rough texture in places.

 

Amber Necklace (110 gp): A necklace featuring three irregularly shaped pendants of golden amber, each about one inch in its longest dimension. One of the pieces clearly contains the fossilized remains of a small winged insect. The amber pieces are strung on a sturdy hemp cord.

 

• Minor Magic Items (from Table 82): 9 items determined by rolls on the Potions table (1), Scrolls table (1d6), Magic Armor and Weapons Table (1d6), or Remarkable Magic Items Table (1d20) (example: Protection from Evil scroll, Potion of Healing, Bag of Holding, etc.).

11 Potions 77x2 (healing)

 222 – 4 5 6 Scrolls

                    4 3 spells, level 1 (Detect Magic x2, Read Magic)

5 Cursed Scroll (turn to stone)

6 Protection from Metal Scroll (normal duration)

 3 – 5 table 89 +1 Armor

 

 444 – 3 7 18 Table 98

          Pipes of the Sewers (A)

          Figurine of the Golden Lion (A)

Gem of Seeing (A)

 

 

• Gems and Jewelry (from Table 80 - Medium): 2 items with individual values determined by 1d100 gp or 1d6 x 200 gp (example values: 72 gp, 1500 gp).

A well-cut iolite (78 gp)

A silver bracelet set with moonstones (800 gp)

A sturdy bracelet made of intricately woven silver links. Set into the bracelet are five smooth, round moonstones, each about half an inch in diameter. The moonstones have a milky white sheen with a subtle blue luminescence that shifts as the bracelet moves. The clasp is a simple hook and eye.

 

• Medium Magic Items (from Table 83): 2 items determined by rolls of three times on the Potions table, 1d6+6 on the Scrolls table, 1d6+6 on the Magic Armor and Weapons Table, or 1d20+20 on the Remarkable Magic Items Table (example: +1 Sword, two Potions of Climbing, one Potion of Invisibility).

2 – Scroll - 2 spells, (Polymorph Other, Animate Dead)

3 – 11 Table 89 - +2 melee weapon

 

• Gems and Jewelry (from Table 81 - Major): 1 item with a value determined by 1d100 x 200 gp (example value: 6200 gp).

A Platinum Torc Inlaid with Star Sapphires: This would be a heavy, intricately crafted neck ring made of pure platinum (a very valuable metal). Inlaid within the platinum would be several large, exceptionally clear star sapphires. Star sapphires, displaying a distinct asterism (star-like effect), are highly prized. (8600 gp)

 

• Major Magic Items (from Table 84): 0 items in this specific roll.

 

Starstone Handout - Bertram's Manuscript

I've been working my way through Starstone, trying to grasp all the nuances (I'm retyping the module just so that I can force myself to read every word and figure out what's going on - and then I can do a layout of the module that I can actually use :) ). 

Anyway, in the process I typed up Bertram's Manuscript and then made a handout for players, with the italicized words legible and the rest of the manuscript faded (as per the module). And I figured if I could use it with my players, maybe someone else would want it as well.

Here's a link to hi-res versions:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gu0H9HAEIF2Iznam9Nu8skK0UlEjkvPF?usp=sharing

Hit Points and Character Death

 

I'm reading a lot of posts asking, "What do hit points really measure?" or something similar. Where hit points seem to jump the shark for people is when a high level character falls 100 feet, gets up, dusts himself off and walks away - or the giant fights with one hit point as effectively as he did with fifty.

D&D seems to me to be about resource management - and hit points are just another resource to manage. Do I have enough to get through another encounter? If not, am I in a safe place to rest? If not... how do I manage my resources? 

So here's my proposal for hit points (almost certainly not original of course - but I haven't seen it exactly like this anywhere).  

NOTE that this is, of course, an untested work in progress :)

Health, Hit Points, Damage and Recovery

Health Points at 0 Level - all characters roll 1d8 for Life Points, Creatures have their Hit Dice in Life Points

Hit Points are rolled at each successive level according to class and added to the Hit Point Total, as normal. Hit Points represent exhaustion, tenacity, skill, survival instinct, and the blessing (or not!) of the fates and are easily lost and fairly quickly recovered. 

Damage in combat and adventuring (with some few exceptions, see below) reduces Hit Points until they are exhausted, then Life Points are reduced accordingly. Additionally, once Hit Points are exhausted, Life Points are drained normally (that is, a 0 level human, or a levelled character who has 0 Hit Points remaining, who is hit for 5 points loses those 5 Life Points) and each point is a wound or scar (see below). 

Each time a character takes 10 or more hit points in damage in a single round, regardless of how many total Hit Points the character has, his or her Life Points are reduced, one Life Point per 10 Hit Points of damage, rounded down (1 Life Point for 10-19 Hit Points, 2 Life for 20-29 Hit Points, etc.) with a subsequent Wound or Scar (see below).

Hit Points are recovered with Rest, while Life Points with Recuperation.

Rest: for every 10 minutes of rest, recover one Hit Dice of Hit Points.

Recuperation: for every 2 hours of recuperation, recover all Hit Points and 1 Life Point.

On Death, Dying and Dismemberment

Characters reduced to 0 Life Points are Dying. Dying Characters make a death save every round. A Death Save is a d20 rolled against the PC’s Constitution score, adjusted by his or her Constitution bonus. Two successive failed Death saves and the Character is dead. If a Dying Character is tended to by another Character (or NPC), the Death Save is rolled at Advantage.

Wounds and Scars: When a Life Point is lost, the Character receives a wound or scar appropriate to the situation. Roll on the general wounds and scars table below, adjusted by the number of Health Points lost in a single round and the Character’s Constitution Bonus (adding the Life Points lost, subtracting the Constitution Bonus).

Roll 1d12	Effect
1 or less	a surge of adrenaline returns 1d4 hit points per every other level (1d4 at 1st and 2nd, 2d4 at 3rd and 4th, etc.) At the end of the combat, the adrenaline drains away, hit points are reduced to zero, and the PC faints for 2d6 rounds.
2	No Effect
3-4	Minor Scar. It’s just a flesh wound, really. A little blood, a little pain but no lasting effect except a little scar (as determined by player and DM)
5-6	Major Scar. Out of action for remainder of combat and heal at half rate for 24 hours. Permanent scar (as determined by player and DM)
7	knocked down, disadvantage on rolls next round
8	knocked out for 2d6 rounds, unless wearing a helm. With helm, only stunned for 1 round. Disadvantage for 1d12 subsequent hours
9	broken bone (DM's choice), 2d4+9 weeks to heal.
10	severed limb (DM's choice or roll randomly) will die in 3d6 rounds unless tourniquet applied, wound cauterized with fire, or Cure Serious Wounds cast (CSW used for this will not restore lost hp).
11	fatal wound (gutted, stabbed through lung, broken back, etc.) die in 1d6 turns.
12+	instant death (decapitated or other grievous wound).

NOTE: While death is generally final, there are some rituals of the Church of the Holy Saints that can potentially resurrect a dead Character. In addition, the clerics of the old gods (Druids) can employ spells like Reincarnation to keep a Character’s Soul from traveling to the great beyond and magic users are able to trap souls in the Mortal Realm (in decaying bodies or as disembodied spirits). 

Cragrapid Keep

Back in the day... I bought ever issue of Dungeon Magazine I could get my hands on - starting with issue #9. I poured over those issues, reading and rereading the adventures. 

One of the early adventures that has stuck in memory for all these decades is from issue #11 - Wards of the Witching Ways.

Actually, it's not the plot of the adventure that has stayed with me - oh, I remember it - two mages betting on the survival of random shipwrecked strangers - plotting and cheating against each other. 

It's a tournament adventure - and as such, it's an okay plot...

But what I kept coming back to was the maps - the layout of the castle: Cragrapid Keep. It has four levels, multiple entrances and many interesting connections.

The other day I was thinking again about this keep and I decided to sketch a perspective image of the keep - not great (I'm no artist) but it helps me keep things in perspective...

 

Fiend Factory Cover Mockup

 I was reading Grognardia's random roll on the Fiend Folio this morning and I remembered that someone had put together a PDF of all the Fiend Factory monsters from White Dwarf. I found a copy of it a long time ago. It's just image scanned copies of the pages - meaning the layout is... um... variable as is the quality at times. I thought about trying to do some layout work and minor editing... but that's a deeper dive time-wise than I wanted to undertake. 

But I thought a cover would be nice :)

So I grabbed an image of a White Dwarf cover I liked (#26) and did some quick edits to make it a Fiend Factory Cover. Why? Because I could...

Free Map Friday

I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Free Map Friday

 I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Part three of at least three. This is the right section.

Here's how they all fit together.

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

When Art Works

 Art in adventures is useful for any number of reasons. I use art as reference: both visually ("oh, THAT'S what a Murrful Monster looks like!") and as a kind of shorthand bookmark in the adventure ("I know the Trash Beast encounter is after the four-armed Minotaur - that image is on page...17..."). Sometimes art really helps fill out the layout of the page. A good header or page border  can make an adventure stand out in my mind - I'm thinking particularly of some of the old D&D adventures written in the UK - UK 5-7, B10, O2. 

Mostly what I want from art is that it be evocative. I was leafing through The Gates of Firestorm Peak this morning. I've never played it - I didn't buy it back in the day. By the time it was published I was starting to get overwhelmed by the number of products TSR was putting out and I had discovered Magic: The Gathering (or, as my friend Jim used to call it, "Magic the Moneypit"). We weren't playing much D&D anymore anyway.

But I was looking through it today and several things about the art struck me:

First, the negative. I HATE watermark art on the page. There was a time when I thought it was kind of cool - but now I just find it distracting. It makes the pages just a bit harder to read - and heaven forbid you put italics over a watermark - my old eyes just aren't up to the struggle...

Second, the meh. Headers. I had forgotten how en vogue it became in second edition to use headers and page borders. The thing is, they aren't effective AT ALL. What the UK modules of the past did was a different header for each section (again, kind of a bookmark for where you are in the adventure) and had style. These are just the same two images repeated ad nauseum... I wouldn't mind if it wasn't just kind of page filler - add six more lines of text to each column, please...

Where is this?

Third, the confusing? There's a great image of a guy standing on a narrow ledge in front of a door with runes carved into it.  Thing is... I can't figure out where in the adventure this door exists... I probably missed it somehow? 

Finally, the evocative! I like a lot of the art in this adventure - it really helps set the mood for me. "Giants" staring over a gate, huge skeletons, weird tentacled things and mutated trolls.  Good stuff. In the "really helping me get it" mode, there's a creepy fountain and a crystal room with a bizarre hanging quicksilver pool (which I totally didn't understand until I saw the pic) - heck even the myconid image is evocative (huddled in a group but, to me, still defiant and aloof...).

Here's a couple images (full pagers) that help sell the scenes for me - where a picture really does say a thousand words:

There's this weird bazaar in a great hall - 

with spider-riding duergar patrolling the upper level.

The battle against the BBEG. 

Art does much more for me than just fill in white space. I really appreciate artwork that helps to build the world for me. Dragonlance did this well for me - I got a real feel for the world of Krynn by the consistency of the artwork. Say what you will about late First Edition and Second Edition adventures (oh the many WORDS...), many of them had fantastic art. 

Free Map Friday

I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Part two of at least three. This is the left section.

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Free Map Friday

I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Part one of at least three. This is the center section.

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Free Map Friday

 I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

EDIT: I forgot to mention - this one was directly inspired by another three level dungeon I saw online somewhere - and of course I can't find the source...sigh...

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Monday Magazine Classics

A Bar-Room Brawl – D&D Style

Lewis Pulsipher

White Dwarf 11

February/March 1979

“For those of you who would like to stage your own D&D bar-room brawl.”

I like mini-games. I like the game within the game of things like this “adventure,” whether it’s a quick gambling mini-game or some kind of simple “climb the sheer cliff without dying” kind of mini-game. What I enjoy is the break from combat or exploration – from the “normal” rules of D&D and similar games.

What’s presented here is a bit overcomplicated by the inclusion of what we would now call a battlemat and tokens (he calls it a board and tokens so...) on which Pulsipher indicates exactly where the tokens should be placed. Okay.

It’s a one-page outline for how to run that bar fight. I haven’t used this in practice, but it LOOKS like it should work out just fine. The rules, such as they are, are pretty scant. Two paragraphs, really, and most of it is just abstract advice along the lines of “standard D&D rules and common sense are used. If an unusual event like a falling chandelier or thrown chair occurs, the result should be figured as seems logical in the circumstances.” Um... thanks?

This really isn’t a scenario or mini-adventure – it’s little more than permission to run a good Old West Saloon brawl in D&D with some stories of how it went down in playtesting.

My whining aside, there are 23 NPCs that can be used for a fun little bar brawl and the board and tokens are a neat addition.

 

Other reviews:

Not a lot out there:

https://www.enworld.org/threads/white-dwarf-the-first-100-issues-a-read-through-and-review.325009/

 

Monday Magazine Classics

 The Hall of Mystery

Don Turnbull

Dragon #21

December 1978

“A section deep in the Greenlands Dungeon.”

Don Turnbull brings another section of his Greyhawk/Blackmoor-esque Greenlands Dungeon to light. Unlike Turnbull’s previous entry on this blog (The Lair of the Demon Queen), he keeps most of the writing direct and to the point, only occasionally straying into commentary like, “Normally the main hall is guarded; in Greenlands the Guardians were two Umber Hulks.”

The monsters here are tough (Succubus, Night Hag, Mind Flayer, Flesh Golem, 4 Trappers, etc.) and the mechanism to “beat the room” will have players puzzling for some time. There’s teleporting to other rooms in this weird monster zoo – and even that mechanism is a trick of sorts... Treasure is frustratingly abstracted (again!). He suggests a monster called a Magic Absorber (From Alarums and Excursions 12...) as another “mess with the players” kind of monster... ugh...

This is another example of early dungeon design. It’s clear that this was played as a game – not as amateur theater or storytelling with dice or as roleplaying a character arc or whatever we do these days. Here’s an environment. Here are the obstacles. Your characters and your brains are the tools you use to overcome them.

So I would compare this to a less developed Tomb of Horrors or a more focused (but still less developed) White Plume Mountain. It’s clearly an artifact of its era – bringing with it all that that implies.

I don’t think I’d use The Hall of Mystery per se. Maybe drop it into something like the above mentioned adventures (because, you know, they aren’t gonzo and deadly enough by themselves...heh) or it could be a fun one shot – maybe at a convention or something.

 

 

Other reviews:

Not a lot out there:

 

https://landofnod.blog/2012/11/10/dragon-by-dragon-december-1978/

 

 

 

 

Free Map Friday - Redraw Saturday...

I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

This is a re-draw of yesterday's map. Maybe a better style... Funny because it's a throwback to how I used to draw digital maps 15 years ago... just playing around with ideas...

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Free Map Friday

 I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Monday Magazine Classics

 The Lichway

Albie Fiore

White Dwarf #9

October/November 1978

 “A mini-dungeon for a part of 6-8 1^st level adventurers.”

 One of the early full-fledged adventures, and still highly regarded in the circles in which I move.

 Fiore gives us just a brief paragraph of background, a few notes on running the adventure and four “Rumours gathered by the party in a village tavern.”

 Right away the map inspires me. It’s a conceit of mine that an interesting map elevates a boring adventure. In fact, a good map (and that’s a moving target for me – at least it should look interesting with its connections and features) raises the bar a little on my estimation of an adventure. That is, if I buy into the map, I’m predisposed to enjoy the adventure. Art can do the same thing sometimes for me.

 So, the map gives us a main entrance but several other ways into the heart of the Lichway – and a variety of interconnections as well. Water is used to good effect in the dungeon. The secret doors and the tricks and traps are suitably old-school. They make sense within the context of the dungeon. Notably, there are rival NPCs already here, doing their own exploring, who can become allies, adversaries or just another obstacle to overcome.

 The main monster here is a Susurrus, a strange Fiend Folio monster whose “song” (the sound of wind blowing through its exoskeleton) causes undead to “sleep the sleep of the dead.” One of the first books I bought for AD&D was the Fiend Folio. I thought the Susurrus was a... strange monster (no flumph or flailsnail perhaps, but odd nonetheless). I didn’t see a use for such a creature as this. But the Lichway gave it some purpose. It’s still an oddly specific creature...

 Tiny print and lack of whitespace make this hard to use, but the information is presented clearly enough that I’ve been able to run this with just a read-through.

 Gripes: most of the treasure in the adventure is pretty specific until the “big treasure” which is simply “gold candelabras, gems, jewelry, silver flasks everyday objects, tools, weapons (none magical), etc. (The total value of the hoard is left at the DM'S discretion.)” Dangit! You told me in one room that a “Loose stone in N. wall conceals 88 g.p. and 89 c.p.” but the big treasure is just “You figure it out DM.”

 Like many adventures, I think you’d want a highlighter – or at least a quick summary page of NPCs (there are 14 individuals named if I counted correctly) along with a handful of monsters and undead (well, there’s a lot of “sleeping” undead...).

 

Other reviews:

 

https://www.enworld.org/threads/white-dwarf-the-first-100-issues-a-read-through-and-review.325009/

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/in-which-i-read-white-dwarf-from-issue-1.405199/page-6

 

https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=22832&p=1208631&hilit=Lichway#p1208631

 

https://princeofnothingblogs.wordpress.com/2020/03/12/review-white-dwarf-9-lichway-due-diligence/#:~:text=A%20mere%204%20pages%2C%20Lichway,the%20mind%20of%20the%20GM.

 

 

http://rolesrules.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-lichway-white-dwarf-9-review.html

Free Map Friday

 I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail

Attribute (Statistic) Idea: I hate dump stats

Over on dragonsfoot.org someone suggested an alternative to the traditional 6 attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma) to 4 attributes, each split in two (Strength/Endurance, Dexterity/Agility, Intelligence/Perception, Will/Charisma). 

Interesting notion. Somebody pointed the discussion to MEGS (Mayfair Exponential Game System)** which is cool: each attribute increase DOUBLES - hence the name - the ability so if a Strength 1 can lift 50 pounds, Strength 2 can lift 100 pounds, Strength 3 can lift 200 pounds, Strength 4 can lift 400 pounds, then 800, 1600, 3200, etc...

Neat idea and works for superheroes rather elegantly.

I'm more interested in their breakdown of abilities, however:

Dexterity, Strength, Body

Intelligence, Will, Mind

Influence, Aura, Spirit

What I like is the kind of holistic approach to body mind and spirit. 

Here's a half-baked, untested, early morning attribute idea to consider:

Body: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution (or Strength, Agility, Health)

Mind: Intelligence, Wisdom or Perception, Sanity

Spirit: Influence or Leadership, Piety, Luck (Not completely sold on piety or luck, tbh)

Rolling Attributes: for each CATEGORY (Body, Mind, Spirit) roll 10d6 and arrange to taste (yes, you will have one bonus die to figure out what to do with). All must fall between 3 and 18.

OR 

roll 3d6 for each attribute and roll one bonus die for each category, adding the whole die to one attribute. All must fall between 3 and 18. 

OR

roll 3d6 (or 4d6 drop lowest) for each attribute in order or arrange to taste.

OR

maybe you roll differently for different archetypes with one (or maybe even TWO) bonus die in a single category: Mages might roll 3d6 straight for Body and Spirit but 3d6 plus one bonus die for mind. Clerics might get their bonus die in Spirit, Fighters in Body, Thieves could choose which one category they get a bonus die in (before they roll).

I'd use a universal bonus/penalty chart for the attributes because it's easier for me to remember, and I like patterns (again, easier to remember) so I'd use:

3        -3

4-5    -2

6-8    -1

9-12    +/-0

13-15    +1

16-17    +2

18        +3

(19-20 [+4]; 21-23 [+5]; 24-27 [+6]; 28-30 [+7]; etc. - not that I expect anyone to get that high, just more mental exercise)

WHY?

Now... there's no real reason to do this, I recognize that... unless mechanics are built out from here: you have broad categories and some granularity. 

This could be useful for skills or ability checks or maybe saving throws. 

Skills: a check against any of the sub-categories would be useful for general skill checks. Want to jump on the back of an untamed horse (or an elk or a rhino)? Give me a Dexterity check. So that's nothing new. 

Saving Throws: The Category (Body, Mind, Spirit) checks would be against the AVERAGE of the scores in the category, round DOWN (say St 17, Dex 15, Con16 - BODY would be 16, whereas St 17, Dex 13, Con 10 BODY would be 13) or the bonus/penalty for Saves could be determined by the category (in the second example the person's strength would somewhat mitigate their lack of constitution and give them a BETTER bonus toward something like poison or paralysis, perhaps). System shock (jumping into freezing water, for example) would be a CATEGORY (Body) check, for good or ill...

But, again, there's no NEED for this. It's just a idea that I'm toying with. 

I like the idea of all attributes being important in a game (I HATE the idea of a "dump stat") and the meaningful choices that come from making those decisions at the beginning of the game and then living with them (sometimes regretfully...). So I like systems where attributes/stats matter. Anyone can wear any armor they STRONG enough to wear (something like plate being reserved for ST 18, perhaps, while even leather armor might require a ST of at least 9). So the granularity comes into play in details like this. 

** Yeah, crummy Wikipedia entry - but you get the gist of the system. One cool thing in the DC Heroes rules is that the rules are summarized in what they call "Eight Ideas": There are eight simple ideas behind the rules for the DC HEROES Role-Playing Game. In order to play the game, Players must be completely familiar with these eight ideas. (DC Heroes Third Edition page 82). I like the ability to summarize the system in X ideas or steps or whatever. 

Monday Magazine Classics

 Lair of the Demon Queen

Don Turnbull

White Dwarf #7

June/July 1978

 

“A difficult but rewarding section of the Greenlands Dungeon.”

 

This is what we might call a “drop in” encounter area today. Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just Don Turnbull teasing us with what his clearly-inspired-by Greyhawk and Blackmoor dungeon was all about.

Sprinkled in with the requisite room and creature information are tidbits of design advice and Turnbull uses a conversational tone that makes this a little hard to use. You’ll need a highlighter at the very least to use this. I think I’d do a quick one-page summary.

 “These rooms may be inhabited by guardians of the Queen’s lair – say evil elves which fire arrows at an intruding party. My choice of occupant, however, was the Disenchanter (one in each room). This is one of Roger Musson’s creations...” Summary: Disenchanter (each room) replaced after killed

 So much of the prose here is of the commentary variety “So, to return to the poem...” “As an added incentive, of course, some treasure can be put in...” “Let’s hope they realise the meaning of...”

 There is a long poem (spoken by a magic mouth, of course!) that the PLAYERS have to work out the meaning of to be able to “beat” this room. This whole set piece feels very look how clever the DM can be to me. That’s how we used to play, so I don’t have a problem with it. The content is interesting enough – a little “funhouse dungeon” for me, but it seems to be pretty true to the source material (I hate hate hate disenchanters – they are just magic killers and really would have little place in any true ecology... like rust monsters and luck eaters and... but I digress – Source Material being Castle Greyhawk and Castle Blackmoor).

 As a player this would be fun and memorable. As a DM this would be a nightmare to run as is. I get accused of using too many words when I write adventures – but there’s just so much commentary that it really gets in the way of trying to work out the details.

 And then there’s the dearth of details... “The tombs, marked D, can be designed to suit the taste of the DM. Each will contain a member of the Undead class and some treasure. In my case the Undead were pretty powerful but the treasure in the tombs was excellent and contained a number of useful magical items. In particular, I left a few scrolls around with Cure Serious Wounds spells - the least I could do in the circumstances.” Wait... what? This thing is just over two pages long, with only five areas detailed... and this is the “detail” for one of those five areas...

 The titular Demon Queen does get a full three paragraph treatment, most of which is good role-playable detail. Until we get to treasure... which is rather abstracted, “The treasure (in a box under the bed) was of course very rich. In my room there were coins, gems and jewellery worth a total of 8,300 GP and two very powerful magical items – a Ring of Three Wishes (full, untarnished wishes, of course) and a Rod of Rulership. When added to the treasure elsewhere in this area, the total GP value was 13,700 and there were three scrolls, a Potion of Heroism, a good book and a dozen other pretty good magical items (plus a crocked sword just to add spice).”

 As a glimpse into the history of adventure design and the early days of the big dungeons, this is invaluable. Turnbull give us lots of commentary on what and why – all to the detriment of usability... As an encounter area, it’s okay. Like I said above, I’d make a one-page summary and maybe a handout with the poem (I know the players are supposed to listen carefully and take notes and whatever... yeah, not how I roll.)

 

 Other reviews:

I’m sure there are more, but all I could dig up was this brief comment:

https://www.enworld.org/threads/white-dwarf-the-first-100-issues-a-read-through-and-review.325009/

 

And this:

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/in-which-i-read-white-dwarf-from-issue-1.405199/page-4

 

 

 

Free Map Friday

 I'm always looking for new maps so I started drawing some. They're pretty rough - but they're free!

Available for use in any way, including commercially, with attribution:

Map by WR Beatty

If you want a larger image or a different format or just to tell me you used the map:

daenralworld AT gmail